With the federal Express Entry system conducting draws approximately every two weeks, Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream has captured the attention of economic immigration candidates with five invitation rounds since the start of 2018, including three in February.
The (HCP) allows Ontario to search the Express Entry pool for candidates with a Comprehensive Ranking System score of at least 400 points, among other criteria, and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence. An Express Entry candidate with a provincial nomination receives an additional 600 points toward their CRS score.
Express Entry invites many more candidates throughout the year than does the HCP stream. In 2017, for example, Express Entry issued more than 80,000 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence, compared to Ontario’s total allocation of 6,500 nominations, of which only a portion is used for the HCP.
In the first two months of 2018, Ontario issued 1,808 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination through the HCP. In that same time period, Express Entry issued 11,500 Invitations to Apply for Canadian permanent residence in four draws
CRS scores required
The Government of Ontario is now announcing the range of Comprehensive Ranking System scores among selected candidates, as well as the date range that shows when Express Entry candidates selected in each draw entered their profiles into the Express Entry pool.
To date, the lowest CRS score selected through the HCP stream in 2018 was 433.
The lowest minimum CRS score required announced Federal Express Entry draws in 2018 has been 442, on two separate occasions
Ontario’s NOI process
After a candidate receives an NOI from Ontario, he or she has 45 calendar days to submit their application to the OINP. Applicants to the OINP pay a processing fee of $1,500.
Once an application is approved by Ontario, a candidate receives a letter from the OINP through his or her online account with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada notifying them of the nomination. The candidate then has 30 calendar days to accept the nomination from Ontario in the Express Entry system.
Some candidates may even risk waiting to apply after receiving NOI from Ontario in the hopes of receiving an ITA from IRCC and potentially saving some fees and time.
Profile submission dates
Profiles in the federal Express Entry pool are valid for one year, and candidates are not excluded from an Express Entry draw based on the date their profile is submitted. The submission date only matters when IRCC employs its tie-break rule.
During Ontario HCP draws, the date of profile submission has been more relevant. Since the start of 2018, OINP invitation rounds have detailed the date range when invited Express Entry candidates entered their profile in the Express Entry pool.
This development follows a 2017 OINP advisory that encouraged prospective applicants to the Human Capital Priorities Stream to create a new profile in the Express Entry system “to make it easier for the OINP to identify their profile during its search of the federal government’s Express Entry pool.”
